ORU immediately investing after Sweet 16

[oklahomamick]

Never before have I seen any school capitalize so immediately and so emphatical

https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/oru/bill-haisten-oru-s-grand-slam-mike-carter-athletic-center-and-mabee-center-renovation/article_cf8fae9c-a086-11eb-ba22-03264a1582af.html

[valpotx]

They have a lot to catch-up on, specific to scandals over the last decade.  They NEED to strike while the iron is hot, as their national perception is not good.

[valpo95]

It is an impressive plan, yet let's not forget the funding: "Resulting from "a significant lead gift" from an unidentified donor, Oral Roberts University soon will begin construction on the Mike Carter Athletic Center."

As soon as VU gets one of those significant lead gifts, I'm sure there will be more work on the ARC.

[VUGrad1314]

Angling for an MVC invite no doubt.  Maybe this will put pressure on Belmont to take the position before it gets offered to ORU. Personally I'd like to see them do it again or at least win the Summit League a few times before we went all in on them but they do spend at an MVC level have a decent overall program and good fan support when they're winning as well as a good baseball program. Moreover, Tulsa is a city that the MVC is very familiar with and would probably want to get back into if for no other reason than to give Missouri State a more compatible travel partner. Not sure about their academics but there's a lot to like there and reigniting the old rivalry would be a treat for older Valpo fans.

As badly as I want Belmont in the MVC this travel partner setup works really well:

Valpo-Loyola
Indiana State-Evansville
Murray State-SIU
Bradley-Illinois State
Drake-Northern Iowa
Missouri State-Oral Roberts

Like really really well....

And I mean no disrespect to ORU when I say this but while it might be fun to have that old rivalry back there's just something about that rivalry that feels so... mid con... I don't know how else to describe it it just feels mid con and that just doesn't feel very good to me for some reason. I know I shouldn't be so conceited as to say such things but it's how I feel. I guess it just feels like going backwards for some reason. It might help us at the gate for a little while for the novelty\nostalgia factor but I just don't feel like the rivalry would have the same juice and thrust that it had back in the 90's this time around. It would live only in the heads of those who experienced it back then and I'm not even sure if it would live there it's been so long and so much has happened. I consider Butler a fiercer rival than I ever considered ORU for instance. 

[VUGrad1314]

I wonder what the posts from ORU's PA announcer could be referring to... If it's as concerning as he's made it sound then I would think ORU will have a lot of trouble getting into the MVC until they clean things up. (post is about halfway down the first page of the thread and a follow up post suggests that whatever he's referring to it's very fresh and new like this season...

https://forum.orusports.com/index.php?/topic/12517-oru%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98grand-slam%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-mike-carter-athletic-center-and-mabee-center-renovation-tw/

[wh]

This is the first time in the past 13 seasons that Oral Roberts has made the NCAA tournament, despite playing against low major competition. IMO they're not worthy of anything greater than a pat on the back.

[valpo64]

I believe that ORU also had some major financial improprieties a some  years back.  I'm not sure if it included athletics but their administration was involved if I'm not mistaken.  I agree with wh in that I do not think they deserve consideration for membership in the MVC.